Thiago Alves vs. 'Sexyama' scheduled for UFC 149

Yoshihiro Akiyama still has a job in the UFC, and now has his next opponent set, as well.

Despite losing four straight in the octagon, Akiyama's spirited performances have ensured him at least one more go, and it will come against Thiago Alves at a July event -- most likely UFC 149 -- according to sources with knowledge of the situation.

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Lol you think Dan Hardy is recognizable here in the UK? He could literally walk down the street in my town and probably never get recognized, even with his distictive mohawk. MMA is basically non-existant and will never be big here, the market is minute.

The Korea market. The UFC has a ducking pop star on their roster. He is truly mainstream in Korea. This is also why they keep feeding him big name matches. I'd they gave him Joe MMA Koreans would not tune in.And Koreans spend money on stuff bro.

Exact same reason that a fighter like Dan Hardy can keep a contract. It's about marketing. They need recognizable names to promote cards in the UK. They need recognizable names to promote cards in Japan/Asia. How many fighters are there in the UFC representing Asian martial arts?

What the f' are all these tards blabbering about? Crying because Sexyama isn't being fed easy fights? Is he trying to win the belt or is he just trying to be a gatekeeper?Tired of idiots claiming racism every time an Asian fighter doesn't succeed. Thiago is a perfectly appropriate matchup.Crying that it's not fair to make Sexyama face real competition, is just embarrassing.

You people still want to claim Joe Silva's this "amazing" matchmaker. How do fights like this get signed when he has the roster he has to work with? They've done everything they could to bury Akiyama's career yet they seem to want to promote him to Koreans at the same time.

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